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ATLANTA -- Jeff DaVanon and Tony Clark helped the
Arizona Diamondbacks claim a first against the Atlanta Braves. DaVanon homered and drove in three runs and Clark added a pair
of solo shots to power the Diamondbacks to a 9-3 victory over
the Braves, who were swept in a four-game series for the first
time in the 10-year history of Turner Field. Finishing up a 10-game road trip at 7-3, the surprising
Diamondbacks tied their best mark for a road trip of that many
games, set on June 27-July 6, 2003 and matched June 13-23, 2005. "That's pretty much the worst series we've ever had here,"
Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "We've been hitting in spurts.
We're not consistent right now." Atlanta was previously held winless in a four-game set at
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium by the Philadelphia Phillies from
May 5-8, 1995. Arizona wasted no time getting on the board on Sunday. DaVanon
smashed the sixth pitch of the day from Jorge Sosa (1-7) into
the Braves bullpen in right-center field for a 1-0 lead. It was the first leadoff homer for DaVanon, who finished the
series hitting .583 (7-for-12) with six runs scored. That lead grew to 4-0 in the second, as Tony Clark continued his
dominance over Sosa and DaVanon delivered another blow. Clark,
who entered 4-of-4 with three homers against Sosa, drilled a
3-2 delivery over the right-center field wall to lead off the
frame. "He's got outstanding stuff," said Clark, who was batting just
.164 prior to collecting three hits. "It was a fastball that
ran in. On a 3-2 count, you don't try to do anything special.
I was fortunate to get enough of it." "Tony Clark is a very powerful hitter," Sosa said through an
interpreter. "Today, he continued to hit the ball well against
me." With one out, Johnny Estrada and Orlando Hudson followed with
successive singles and advanced a base on a wild pitch. DaVanon
followed with a two-out single to plate both runners. Estrada, a former Brave, made it 5-1 in the sixth with an RBIs
single and Damian Easley hit a three-run homer and Clark added
his fifth blast in the ninth. Easley had career highs of three homers and seven RBIs in
Saturday's 13-9 triumph. "Anytime you get some consistent at-bats, you find your timing,"
Easley said. "That's all I did is find my timing. I didn't
miss pitches. The pitches I should have hit, I put in play." Diamondbacks starter Miguel Batista (6-2) took advantage of the
strong hitting to continue a stellar stretch. The righthander
allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings to win his
third straight start. He also struck out five and walked two. Batista, coming off a complete-game win over the New York Mets
on Tuesday, has yielded six earned runs over his last 21 2/3
frames. Becoming the National League's second seven-game loser, Sosa
gave up five runs and nine hits in six innings. The righthander
surrendered two home runs in the game and has allowed a
team-leading 12 in 55 innings this season. The loss continued a miserable homestand for the Braves, who had
played the fewest games in the majors at home coming into their
current 10-game stand. Atlanta dropped to 1-6 with a
three-game set with the Washington Nationals starting on Monday. Edgar Renteria drove in a run on a fielder's choice and homered
in the seventh for Atlanta (28-29), which fell one game under
.500 for the first time since May 20.
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